Inside the Star

Brampton kirpan attack renews debate over Sikh daggers

An attack in which a Brampton lawyer was stabbed using a Sikh ceremonial dagger is raising fears about renewed objections to the right to wear the religious symbol. The kirpan is banned in Denmark and France, but is allowed in most public places in
Canada, including at schools.

Brampton lawyer Manjit Mangat was stabbed April 2, 2010 with a kirpan, igniting fears of fresh controversy over Sikhs' right to wear the ceremonial dagger. Mangat, who wears a kirpan himself, says the attack is an example of someone who misuses the religious symbol.

By:Raveena AulakhStaff Reporter, Published on Tue Apr 06 2010

The crowd of about 150 people was yelling obscenities and threats outside the Sikh Lehar Centre in Brampton when three temple officials stepped out to pacify them.

Within seconds, one in the crowd, clutching a thick steel bangle, punched Manjit Mangat, the 53-year-old president of the Sikh temple, in the face. Witnesses say at least two men brandished unsheathed kirpans, the Sikh ceremonial dagger.

The next moment, Mangat, a prominent Brampton lawyer, was on the ground — his face bloodied and a 5-inch wound in his abdomen.

Brampton’s Sukhwant Singh, in his early 50s, has been charged with attempted murder and aggravated assault, Peel police say. Singh’s next court appearance is on Thursday.

Any weapon could have been used in the attack, but the fact that it was a kirpan alarms Sikh leaders who fear the incident will rouse objections once again over one’s right to wear the religious symbol in public.

“We are fighting for two symbols all over the world — turban and kirpan,” said Gurdev Gill, who witnessed the attack on Mangat. “They have both been misused in front of everyone. Why would people listen to us when we now say that it (kirpan) is ceremonial in nature ... not meant to kill people?”

A steel blade anywhere from 2 to 8 inches long, the kirpan is supposed to be worn by baptized Sikhs at all times, sheathed under their clothes. But debates have raged across the country whether the wearing of the dagger, seen by Sikhs as a symbolic weapon in the fight against evil, compromises public security.

The kirpan is banned in Denmark and France and there have been several court cases in states of the U.S. involving the legality of wearing the kirpan in public places. But it is allowed in most public places in Canada, including at schools. There have been some incidents in the past in the Toronto area where the kirpan was used in an assault, but none as high-profile as the one on Friday in Brampton.

When Amanpreet Bal first heard about the scuffle and the stabbing, he hoped that a kirpan hadn’t been used. Every time, the kirpan comes back into the spotlight, “it means an uphill battle for us to educate people about its spiritual significance,” said Bal of the World Sikh Organization, an agency which has fought for Sikhs’ rights to wear the kirpan.

“Ignorant people have no idea what the impact of this (incident) can be,” he said. “The community will see the impact of this incident for years to come. It presents a tremendous challenge to the Sikhs.”

Controversy over the kirpan first burst onto the national scene in 2001 when Montrealer Gurbaj Singh Multani, then a 12-year-old student, accidentally dropped his 8-inch ceremonial daggerat school. It triggered a five-year-long dispute with the school board over his right to wear the dagger. In 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld his right to wear it to school in a landmark judgment.

A debate erupted in Montreal again about 18 months ago when police said a 13-year-old student had allegedly threatened two students with his kirpan. In April 2009, a judge found him guilty of threatening them, but with a hairpin used to secure a turban.

The issue of the kirpan is a delicate one in the community. Sikhs will voice their concern about its misuse but few will openly discuss what can be done about it. Balraj Deol, editor of Khabarnama, a weekly Punjabi newspaper published in Brampton, says it is time for the clergy to examine the issue of how to make the kirpan safe.

“We have seen from time to time that people have used it as a weapon and it’s very dangerous,” said Deol.

Its size is one issue, he said. “It’s a religious symbol. It can be tiny,” not more than 2 inches long. He also points out that the kirpan — a really small one — can be worn around the neck, which would address security concerns.

Others have bounced the idea of locked kirpans — where they can’t be unclasped.

Harnish Athwal, a 35-year-old mother of two young girls, says Friday’s violence has convinced her that the ceremonial dagger must be made safer. She was inside the temple when the scuffle broke out and was one of the first people to reach Mangat, slumped on the ground.

“My kids saw it happen ... my 6-year-old daughter is still traumatized,” said Athwal, who also witnessed the incident. “She can’t understand why people would first yell and scream and then hurt someone so bad.”

Meanwhile, Mangat is home from hospital, recuperating. “I thank God that I am alive,” he said. One of the wounds, he added, is nearly 5 inches deep and next to the right kidney, others are on his legs and thighs.

But Mangat, who also wears a kirpan, says this abuse of the dagger should not be used against the religion. “These people have used religious emotions and symbols to attack others. It does not mean all Sikhs are violent.”